Ascendance of a Bookworm

When I returned to my seat after taking all the pages, I found Fran looking at me with a grave face and sighing. I knew he meant to tell me not to do things by myself, but I ignored him. I did this not only to demonstrate to the staff, but also to make sure that my own book was perfect.

“I want to take these home, so I"m sorry for taking the liberty.”

While the staff was stacking the other pages in order, I carefully refolded mine and pressed the creases flat with my fingernails. The paper for double-sided printing is very thick, so I should have prepared spatulas and rulers. No, considering the possibility of refolding, it"s better not to use sc.r.a.pers.

Since the printed pages were only for thirty books, they were soon stacked. I asked the staff to divide them into three piles and carry them carefully back to the workshop.

“Tools are needed for the next step, so let"s call it a day. Go and rest.”

I just wanted to go home early and continue binding. I put my share in my bag and asked Lutz to go back to the workshop and get a piece of flower paper for the cover.

“If you want to continue at home, I"ll go and help. It"s better to see you do it than to hear you explain it.”

The gelatin wasn"t ready yet, and I didn"t have anything to replace it. Therefore, I intended to make the children"s edition of the Scripture into a thread-bound book.

“I"m back!”

“Welcome home, Maine. It"s so early today. Oh, Lutz is back with you.”

When we got home, Turi had already come back from the forest. I took the pages from my bag and showed them to her.

“Turi, look! This is the Scripture for the children!It"s finally printed.”

“Wow, this picture book is great!”

Turi flipped through the pages with a cry of excitement. As for the black and white picture book I made for the babies, she seemed to have no idea what the advantages were, so I pursed my lips as she praised the children"s edition of the Scripture.

“But wouldn"t it be difficult to read them separately?”

“So it"s going to be a real book. Can you help me bind them? If you can go to the workshop later and teach the people there how to do it, that would be great, because I can"t do anything in the workshop.”

I asked, taking the flower paper from my bag to be the cover and placing it on the table.Turi tilted her head.

“It"s all right to help, but can I do it?”

“Because it"s needlework, I think you would do a better job than I would.”

“I see. I"ll help you. Will you give me a copy of this book? I want to learn to write, too.”

Turi said shyly. She must have been inspired by seeing how Lutz and I wrote on the board and how Corinna took notes while taking orders. Her request was a piece of cake. I could even be her governess for her sake.

“I"ll keep a copy of this picture book at home, so let"s read it together.I"m not a good tailor but a good teacher. I"m going to teach the children in the orphanage to write this winter, so you can learn with them. You"ll learn faster if you have compet.i.tors.”

I rummaged in my father"s toolbox and took out the tools for binding books, such as the ruler, the awl, the hammer and the board.

“First, check that the edges of the pages are aligned, because you can"t change them later, and then flatten the outside crease completely with a spatula and ruler… like this.”

I showed Lutz and Turi how to flatten the outside creases with a ruler, and they did the same.

“Once you"ve flattened it out, check the alignment again, then stand the pages up and tap them, keep the spine… err, the seam in a straight line, and then you can punch and bind.”

I put the pages on the board, measured them with a ruler and made three small marks with a soot pencil.

“Lutz, punch where I marked. Stand up the awl and hammer it down, and the hole will be made straight. ”

After aligning the pages, I pressed the pages, and Lutz asked me, “here?” With my approval, he punched where I had marked.

“Turi, please thread from the front through the hole right in the middle first. Next, thread through the first hole from the back, then the third hole from the front, then the center hole from the back.”

It would have taken me a long time to do it, but Turi was used to it because of her work, so she did it very quickly.Then I asked her to cut the rest of the threads short and tie the one that ran up and down with two threads coming out of the center. After cutting off the end, I asked Lutz to knock the knot gently down with the hammer.

“When the knot is knocked in, the surface becomes very flat.”

When this was done, Lutz wrote down the binding steps on a writing board. Meanwhile, I held the ruler over the spine and cut out the irregularities with a penknife.

“Actually, the next step should be to cover the corners, but since there is no paste, let"s skip this step and add the cover first.Beautiful paper made from flowers and leaves will come in handy.”

When I folded the flower paper in half, Turi looked over and said, “Wow, that"s cute.”

“Right? First, cut this paper in half and add it to the front and back of the book.Then, place the ruler on the binding position, gently draw a line with the awl, and finally punch the holes after measuring the distance as before. ”

Instead of using a soot pencil, I used an awl to make four dents so as not to stain the cover. But I didn"t have the strength to punch, which made me a little sad.

“Then it"s my turn.”

Lutz took the hammer and began to punch. Perhaps antic.i.p.ating the imminent needlework, Turi had made preparations in advance.

“Thread through the second hole from the back, around the back of the book, and through the back again… yes, yes, that"s it.Next, leave a thread about the length of your index finger, open the book, pull it in, and hide it between the pages.”

“Like this?”

“Push the thread in a little more with the needle. Yes, that"s great. After you"ve finished with the rest of the thread, run a new thread through the third hole from the front, around the back of the book, and through the front again.”

Turi threaded with great speed, muttering, “I can"t believe it"s so easy.” All she had to do was run the threads through the holes in order, and as long as the order was not wrong, the threading itself was not difficult, she just had to be careful not to let the threads loose.

“When you get the thread around the top of the book, turn the book over to the back, and it"s the last step.Cross the thread like this, and it will tie itself.”

“Oh, amazing.”

Turi followed my instructions and was surprised to see that the knot had actually formed.

“Then pull hard on the thread, tie it tight, run it through the second hole and pull the knot into the hole so it won"t come loose easily.”

“Wow, that"s awesome!”

Lutz"s eyes widened. Turi pulled several times to get the knot into the hole, but it never worked. Then she gently pushed the knot down with the needle and pulled again.

“The only thing left is to cut the thread…”

I felt a fever in my chest as the book was about to be finished. My whole body seemed to be constricted and my throat was shaking. My vision became blurred and the book in front of me became distorted.

“Cut it off, Maine.”

Lutz handed me the scissors, and Turi nodded slightly, pulling hard at the thread between the book and the needle. I took the scissors in a trembling hand and leaned them against the thread. Then, with only a slight movement, the thread snapped.

At the same time, my tears burst. I couldn"t stop the hot tears running down my cheeks.

“It"s done… it"s done, Lutz.”

It was not a lump of clay, or a block of wood, or a pile of paper, or a black-and-white picture book without a word, but a book that I could positively declare “it"s a book!”

“… it"s been a long time. It"s really been a long time.”

It had been about two years since I had made up my mind to make the book, and it had finally been finished. It was like a dream. Lutz, who had been working with me on the book, smiled with a sense of accomplishment and then burst into tears.

“That"s good, Maine.”

Lutz opened his arms to me. I hugged him tightly and nodded several times. If I was alone, nothing could be done. I got where I am because of his support.

“Thanks for all your help, thank you. I"m so happy, so happy. I"ve made the book. The book of my dreams…”

I dared not touch the newly finished book with my tearful hands, but stared at it, not wanting to stain it. It was just a thin, thread-bound picture book, but I couldn"t stop crying when I thought of how much had happened along the way to finish it. No strength, no money, no paper, no pigment, no tools. The challenge that began with nothing had now come to fruition.

While I was still basking in the happiness, Lutz gave me a combative smile.

“But there"s only one. You want more than you can read. Do you, Maine?”

Lutz"s emerald eyes were fixed on the next target. In order to achieve our ambition, we must continue to challenge one after another. I wiped my tears away and grinned.

“Yes, I want so many books that I can open a library. Because we agreed.”